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MEMORIAL 

FROM 

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 

AND 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF THE 

MISSOrni TERRITORY, 

ON THE 

SUBJECT OF THE DEFENXELESS SITUATION" 

OF 

SAID TERRITORY: 

AND 

PRAYING THE Ali) OF CONGRESS 

IN 

THE DEFENCE THEREOF, &c. 



JANUARY 31, 1815. 
Read, and ordered to lie on the table. 



WASHINGTON ; 



/■. AND G. WAY, PRINTER' 



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RESOLUTIONS. 



Resolved, unanimously, by the legislative council 
and house of representatives, That it is their duty to 
make a faitliful statement of what, in their opinion, is 
their present situation, and that a memorial to that ef- 
fect be forwarded without delay to the congress of the 
United States, praying for a sufficient number of 
troops, not only to repel aggression but also to carry 
on active warl^ire in the heart of tlie enemy's country. 

Resolved also, unanimously. That for the above 
purposes the following memorial be adopted, and that 
the governor of this territory be requested to forward 
the same to our delegate in congress who is requested 
to lay the same before the congress of the United 
Slates ; and also, to use his best endeavours to haver 
*he same carried into eftect. 



[56] 



MEMORIAL. 



To the senate and house of rppresentatives of the 
United States of America in congress assembled: 

The unanimons memorial of the lec^islative council and 
liouse of representatives of the teriitory of Missouri, 

RESPECTFULLY REPRESENTS .' 

That taking into view the situation of this coun- 
try, which we confidently believe to h& particularly 
critical and dangerous at this time, and that it will be 
still more so the ensuing season, your niemorialists 
believe that they would not do justice either to them- 
selves or their country, although assembled at this 
time for the particular purpose of legislation, were 
they to delay the present opportunity of infortfiing the 
general government of their situation, and most ear- 
nestly solicitiiig tlielr early attention thereto. 

Notwithstanding their particularly exprosed and 
frontier situation, of course to be especially affected by 
reason of a declaration of war against Great Britain, 
your memorialists heg leave to assure the general go- 
vernment that they are warm supporters of that mea- 
sure which they believe ought not and could not, con 
sistent witli the honor and dignity of the United states. 
have been longer delayed; they believe it to be the 
only certain meaiis of procuring a sure and permanent 
peace with the numerous tribes of Indians between 
whom and the United States they were the only bar- 
rier. Your memorialists were filled with joy when 
they learned that tlte government m as prepas jng a?]d 
fitting out an expedition, to be commanded by the 
hero of 8n n.diisky. against Miciiiliffiackinak, the grand 



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depot of Erltish goods aiul the theatr*' of their influ- 
ence w'hIi those tribes ^vhom tliey en. :.ge to harass 
and disturb our frontier; but wiiiist \f?<.r memorial- 
ists were imhilging the fondest hopes for the success 
of this important measure, they were suddenly disap- 
pointed by learning; of the failure of the expodition^ 
The ill success of this measure was followed b;)f the 
taking of Prairie l)u Chien by the enemy, a position 
wliich we believe his excellency the governor of tiiis 
territory liad taken in consequence of the movement 
against Mackinak, hoping thereby to be enabled to 
bring home to the good people of this territory more, 
speedily and cei'tainly, the iiappy effects that could 
not fail to Jiave been the result of a successful attempt 
on Mackinak. About this time also, the reinforce- 
ments sent up the Mississippi, by brigadier gen. How- 
ard, for the relief of Prairie 13u Chsen, were attack- 
ed by the enemy, almost two hundred miles nearer 
as than that post, and compelled to return with great 
loss: in the train of this list of evils, followed the 
loss of general Hov/ard himself, and the ultimate aban- 
donment of fort Johnson, a post taken by him nearly 
opposite the mouth of the river l)c Moine to prevent 
any rapid and grand descent of the enemy by water. 
It is f(uthcrmore stated, and your memorialists believe 
w^ith truth, tliat fort Clarke, at Peoria, is in such a 
situation at this time as must insure a surrender to the 
enemy, or an abandonnuniof tlie post, if, indeed, (his 
last step be practicai)le. With tiiis succession of past 
events, unfortunate in their tendency towards these 
frontiers, your memorialists are filled with regret 
when they reflect Ihat tliey see no prospect in the fu- 
ture more pleasing, unless from tlie timely and paren- 
tal interference of the general government. It will, 
we trust, be needless fnr us to iiilorm your honorafile 
body, that these events have rai;feed a union of nearly 
all, if not the whole, of the tribes of savages residing 
on the water? of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers 
J^-gainst us, and tiia^ innu int>)rma'(ion v.c believe en' 



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tirely wortky of credU, they have been amply furnish- 
ed by tiie British with arms and ammunition. It now 
only remains for the enemy to succeed in their at- 
tempts to guin over the iViissouri Indians to their 
w ishes to have formed against us a coalition so for- 
mitlable as to defy resistance by any force we caa 
draw into the field. 

Your memorialists are informed from authority 
whicli cannot be (h)ubted, that a junction of the Mis- 
sissippi and Missouri Indians would enable the ene- 
my to ln-ing into the field against us a force of at least 
six thousand savages. To oppose this formidable ar- 
my, it appears, by the returns from the inspector and 
adjiitMut general's ofilce, we have only an eftective 
force of about three thousand four hundred militia; 
one third of the whole numher of which it also ap- 
pears from snid documents, have actually performed 
active service during the present scfison ; and this 
force, inconsiderable as it is, and without arms, is scat- 
tered over a distance of country five or six hundred 
miles in extent. Thus situated, vour memorialists bcji' 
leave, most respectfully, to ask, what resistance tliey 
could be expected to oppose to any sudden descent or 
invasion by the enemy, if made in force? The tmswer 
is obvious : before the militia could be collected from 
such a distance, supposing no obstruction whatever to 
be opposed in asseRil)ling them, tlie enemy would 
have wreaked his vengeance on our defenceless set- 
tlements asid fellow-citizens, destroyed such portions 
of their property as they did not risk to bear oif, and 
be out of the reach of retribution if otherwise practi- 
cable. From the above statement of facts, it aj)pears 
that the people <»f this territory have not been back- 
ward in turning out for tlie defence of their country, 
and even for ti»e purpose of carrying the war into 
that of the enen-iy's : but sliould the British succeed 
in arraying against us tise friendly tribes on the Mis- 
souri, as above apprehended, or should t-jey bring in- 
to the iield against us even the half of those Indians 



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who arc at present hostile to us, residing on the Illi- 
nois and Mississippi rivers and their \\;iters. your me- 
morialists are convinced, that the wiiole of our settle- 
ments north of the 3Iissouri, must i^ive way, and that 
river form the Sjoundary between us and tiie Indian 
country. 

Your memorialists beg leave to express their pro- 
found regret, that nearly the whole of what few re- 
gular troops were in this country have been ordered 
away. They hope and believe that as much may be 
calculated on from the militia of tlsis territory, as that 
from any other section of tlie United States, situated 
as they are. Indeed, they might perhaps venture to 
express their belief, that no part of the Unitetl Stntes 
tir their territories, have had the same number of its 
citizens for the same length and number of times, on 
active and frequently distant service as this territory : 
but your memorialists are persuaded that this cannot 
long continue to be the case. The spirit of the mili- 
tia will become harassed and broken by too frequent 
calls on their patriotism, and ultimately, but few we 
fear, will be found willing to shoulder a musket iij 
defence of a country of such an immense value to the 
United States, but which they will unquestionably 
see abandoned if attacked by all the force the enemy 
can easily bring against it, or taken from them by con- 
quest, than the last of which your memorialists could 
not conceive of a greater political misfortune that 
could befall them. 

Your memorialists do, therefore, most earnestly and 
respectfully solicit the attention of the general go- 
vernment to our situation, and that an adequate force 
of regular troops, if to be had, and if not. an equiva- 
lent in militia of the neighboring states and territories 
be ordered for our protection, to aiVord us an opportu- 
nity of shewing to the w orld our zeal and attachment 
to tliH government of the United States, and the folly 
of an attempt to recolonizc this country i)y any of the 
powers of Europe. We earnestly solicit Ihe '^enera'i 



LS,?"^ ^^ CONGRESS 




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government iioit lo suifer us to fall iiiio the Isaiuls erf 
our eaemies, but to send us such a force as will not 
only enable us to protect and cherish our young and 
flourishinj;; settlement, but render us the most eiiectual 
means of defence to carry tlie war into the enemy's 
®\vn country. We do lielieve, Ihat an active cam- 
paiii;n might be carried on in their country w ith the 
double effector disiressini; and destroying theei. and 
protecting our settlements at the same time. We al- 
so pray, that Congress would cause to be forw'arded 
«rms salfscient for the use of our militia. 

JriMEB CALBWELL, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

lYILLIAM NEELY, 
President of the Legislative Co7incii. 

St, Louis, December 36, iSi^i, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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